Wave Intensity Distributions in Complex Structures

The vibro-acoustic response of mechanical structures can in general be well approximated in terms of linear wave equations. Standard numerical solution methods comprise the finite or boundary element method in the low frequency regime and statistical energy analysis in the high-frequency limit. Major computational challenges are posed by the so-called mid-frequency problem - that is, composite structures where the local wavelength may vary by orders of magnitude across the components. Recently, a new approach towards determining the distribution of mechanical and acoustic wave energy in complex built-up structures improving on standard statistical energy analysis has been proposed. The technique interpolates between statistical energy analysis and ray tracing containing both these methods as limiting cases. The method has its origin in studying solutions of wave equation with an underlying chaotic ray-dynamics - often referred to as wave chaos. Within the new theory - dynamical energy analysis - statistical energy analysis is identified as a low resolution ray tracing algorithm and typical statistical energy analysis assumptions can be quantified in terms of the properties of the ray dynamics. We have furthermore developed a hybrid statistical energy analysis/finite element method based on random wave model assumptions for the short-wavelength components. This makes it possible to tackle mid-frequency problems under certain constraints on the geometry of the structure. Dynamical energy analysis and statistical energy analysis/finite element method calculations for a range of multi-component model systems will be presented. The results are compared with both statistical energy analysis results and finite element method as well as boundary element method calculations. Dynamical energy analysis emerges as a numerically efficient method for calculating mean wave intensities with a high degree of spatial resolution and capturing long range correlations in the ray dynamics